About us

Description

This retreat aims to introduce the 107 vital energy centres (Marmas) of our body, their identifications, functions, how to incorporate them in a regular practice of yogic posture. The knowledge can deepen one’s yoga practice and is a good introductory course to energy medicine. This course is designed for yoga teachers, serious yoga students, and health practitioners who are interested in using vital energy centres for healing.

Details

Marma Therapy has ever been one of Ayurveda’s most powerful healing modalities for stress and pain management. Marmas are vital, hidden or secret points found where energy and matter come together or, as one can say, ”where the tissues of the of the body eavesdrop on your internal dialogue”.

Marmas are points that are intelligent and can keep the body in touch with itself and its needs. This specialized massage technique is particularly useful to heal damaged tissue, to detoxify by activating the lymphatic system, to unblock tension from nerves, muscles and joints and to facilitate proper Pranic flow. A rejuvenative, relaxing and revitalising therapy, Marma Points Massage offers a holistic approach as it helps to harmonize body and mind.”

Schedule

06:00 – 08:00 am – Satsang: Silent meditation, chanting and lecture

08:00 – 10:00 am – Yoga Class: Asanas and Pranayama

10:00 – 10:45 am – Vegetarian Brunch

12:00 – 04:00 pm – Marma Points Workshop with Bharata

04:00 – 06:00 pm – Yoga Class: Asanas and Pranayama

06:00 – 06:45 pm – Vegetarian Dinner

08:00 – 09:30 pm – Satsang: meditation, chanting and lecture

Arrival and Departure

Arrival: The course will begin at 7pm on the first Date of the course with an Ashram Orientation followed by Satsang at 8pm.

Departure: The course will conclude at 3pm on the Final date.

We encourage you to arrive by 4pm on Day 1, making the most out of the afternoon by joining us for the Asana class and dinner. You are always welcome and encouraged to extend your stay to any length before or after the course. Please indicate your desired arrival and departure dates on your registration form.

About the
Venue and Teacher

In 1971, Swami Vishnu-devananda returned to California and founded the third ashram in the young Sivananda International organization: the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm on 40 acres of land located in the Gold Country of the beautiful Sierra Nevada Foothills in Northern California. The “Yoga Farm,” as Swami Vishnu-devananda nicknamed the ashram, remained his favorite place for personal retreat and is where he wrote “Meditation and Mantras.” For almost 20 years the ashram remained in its original state: a farmhouse and pond surrounded by rolling hills and majestic oaks, saturated with the songs of wildlife.
In 1974, the Yoga Farm hosted the first Sivananda Teachers’ Training Course on the West Coast. Yoga practitioners are increasingly aware of deeper and subtler aspects of classical yogic teachings, and seek a retreat where they can deepen their practice, renew their inspiration and further educate themselves. The Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm responds by maintaining a pure atmosphere where people rediscover their Divine Self. It is a spiritual, non-sectarian, non-profit organization run entirely by dedicated Yoga teachers who selflessly teach this ancient system. It is a spiritual, non-sectarian, non-profit organization run entirely by dedicated Yoga teachers who selflessly teach this. “Sivananda Yoga is qualified in Time Magazine article on Yoga as “moderately difficult” and is “One of the world’s largest schools of Yoga, Sivananda calls for the rigorous application of Yoga postures, breathing exercises, relaxation, vegetarian diet and study of scriptures. May require lifestyle changes”

Bharata Surya (Javier Lopez) is a Sivananda Yoga Teacher and a certified Ayurveda Practitioner, Counselor, Pancha Karma specialist and Marma therapist trained in the US and India. For the last 15 years he has led private practices and set up Ayurvedic clinics in different parts of the US and abroad, conducting multiple workshops and programs and designed protocols on diet, herbology, lifestyle management therapies, yoga/ayurvedic cleansings and juice fastings. As lead chef at the Yoga Farm Ashram, Bharata stresses the importance of healing the body and mind through food. Besides offering Ayurveda consultations, he teaches weekend and full 7-day certified ayurvedic vegetarian cooking courses. Bharata is the author of a forthcoming cookbook on ayurvedic recipes and healing foods.

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